


Baby-Sitting

by Bubbly_Kandy



Series: Dickie Bird AU [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Baby-sitting, Barbara is older than Dick!!, Barbara: Wait wh- oh my god, Dick: watch me do this sick flip, Dickie Bird AU, It's My Canon Now DC, Sorry DickBabs shippers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 09:15:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16037459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubbly_Kandy/pseuds/Bubbly_Kandy
Summary: (An AU where Bruce adopted Dick when he was three)Barbara would definitely consider herself as on Bruce’s list of ‘people I hate less than the others.’ She’s pretty sure she’s on the list for two reasons: she’s Dick’s designated babysitter, and (if she may brag for a second) her advanced hacking skills are useful to Bruce and her dad to break into the newest technology.The hacking part is pretty obvious to why she would be important, but becoming a designated babysitter for the newly taken-in baby of one of- if not the- most influential people in Gotham City- oh boy.





	Baby-Sitting

For as long as Barbara could remember, her dad was always in league with Bruce Wayne. One of her first memories is when she was around two or three, and her mom was going to give her a bath, but she had heard her dad talking to someone in the kitchen. She had escaped her mom’s grasp to dash into the kitchen, only with her skirt on, and saw a really tall and big man in her kitchen, whom she later found out was Bruce Wayne.

 

Not the most elegant or professional first impression, but _definitely_ a first impression.

 

In spite of her not-fully-clothed debut to Bruce’s life, she would definitely consider herself as on Bruce’s list of ‘people I hate less than the others.’ She’s pretty sure she’s on the list for two reasons: she’s Dick’s designated babysitter, and (if she may brag for a second) her advanced hacking skills are useful to Bruce and her dad to break into the newest technology.

 

The hacking part is pretty obvious to why she would be important, but becoming a designated babysitter for the newly taken-in baby of one of- if not _the_ \- most influential people in Gotham City- oh boy.

 

If someone asked her to retell the story, she wouldn’t know really what to say. It was about a year before Wayne trusted her with his little boy all on her own, but she was also one of the first people whom Dick met when he moved in with Wayne and Alfred. She and Dick had immediately made a connection, and that had gotten her more into the idea of baby-sitting.

 

Despite her now love for taking care of kids, she hadn’t wanted to do babysitting at the beginning of the summer before her freshman year of high school. She had whined to her dad that babysitting was _boring,_ and that she was going to be surrounded by girls for five hours a day, every day, seven days in all. She didn’t really mind the ‘surrounded by girls part’ as much as the boring part- her bisexuality actually very much appreciated that fact- but boys, in her opinion, brought a new layer of entertainment to a class.

 

Besides, she had wanted to work more on her hacking. She was trying to break into the newest Apple computer- it proved much more difficult than she expected, but she was actually having a _blast_ trying to figure it out.

 

However, her dad said something about ‘bonding with girls her age’ and the fact that she ‘looks pale from all the time spent in her room’- which, as she rebutted, she did _not,_ she was just naturally pale as all get-out. Her dad just laughed, then signed her up for a course.

 

On Monday, she grumpily got up, ate breakfast, then stewed in bitterness for the entire ride to the hospital where the class was at. She almost said something that only rich spoiled brats said to their parents in Gotham- _‘what if Two-Face or the Joker attacks?’_ but her gut told her that saying that to her father, who was the police commissioner who actually had to deal with crap like that, wouldn’t be a good idea.

 

She had gone through a miserable week of training, but received top marks anyways (damn her drive to achieve in everything). She, for the next week or so, kept on complaining that babysitting was boring, unpredictable, and a waste of time until her dad texted her one day in a hurry, asking her to throw on some nice clothes and brush her hair, without giving any reason whatsoever. She almost gave into her rebellious teenager attitude and not gotten dressed- but, since she loves her dad, she did as he asked and jumped in the car the second he pulled up.

 

“You look very nice, Babs- thank you for being quick,” her dad said, looking a little disheveled and not speaking in his usual mannerisms, raising Barbara’s suspicion of her dad being… _not_ her dad. It had given her chills the first time she thought about it, and she had been contemplating bringing a knife just in case before her dad pulled up.

 

Not wanting to possibly make her possible imposter-dad freak out, Barbara merely held up a thumbs up in response before asking,

 

“Where are we going, anyways?”  

 

Her dad sighed, and turned on the road that only went to one place- the Wayne Manor. _And a few abandoned warehouses,_ but she wasn’t going to think about that.

 

“It seems that Bruce Wayne has taken in a little boy from the circus.”

 

Barbara’s jaw dropped, and at that moment she truly knew about someone’s mind going into overdrive with a simple, fourteen-word sentence.

 

 _“What?”_ Bruce Wayne? Billionaire, Playboy-exclusive, probably-drinks-a-lot Bruce Wayne, with a _kid?_ Barbara’s brain couldn’t put the two together, no matter how much she tried. She suddenly understood why her dad looked so stressed.

 

“How old?” Was the only question she could come up with, her brain humming in hyper-activity. How ‘little’ was her dad talking? She knew the kid wouldn’t be a teenager or anything like that (her dad would’ve told her) but she also couldn’t see Bruce Wayne with, say, a one year old or anything like that.

 

And why did her dad mention he was ‘from the circus?’ Did this kid have lions as a pet, or something?

 

Her thoughts were interrupted as the car pulled into the Wayne Manor driveway. She got out of the car, and she was, once again, struck by how _large_ the house was. She had only been inside once or twice (only for charity balls), and never further than from the front hall. She jogged to the front door, and banged her fist against the door four times before her dad caught up to her.

 

The door opened, and Wayne’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth, welcomed them graciously to the Manor (he commented on how much Barbara looked like her mother, which was a comment that always flattered her no matter how many times she heard it) and the butler and her dad started discussing a case that had been all over the tabloids lately, something about a ‘Zucco’ character, drugs, and gangs.

 

Barbara did what she always did when her dad talked about things like this; she blanked out. She had learned the hard way that she couldn’t possibly think about all the bad shit that happened in Gotham, much less the _world,_ unless she wanted to break down and cry for hours over things that didn’t even concern her well-being in the slightest. Her dad had taught her that while it’s wonderful that she cares, she just cares… too _much._

 

She was spinning idly on her heel, keeping her gaze focused on the ceiling- was that a _bat?!-_ until she noticed Wayne walking down the stairs, holding something in his arms. Barbara soon realized the ‘something’ was the baby she had been taken to the Manor for, and her jaw dropped as she quickly tapped her dad on the shoulder.

 

Her dad wasn’t kidding. The kid- he was _little._ He must’ve only been about two or three, and Barbara was struck with how much the kid looked like Bruce- they had the same shade of hair, and when Wayne and the kid got closer, she could see the same dark blue eyes between them.

 

Wayne, with the kid in his arms, stopped in front of the group, and Barbara realized her jaw was still hanging open. She quickly clacked it shut, then she felt a strong wave of protectiveness wash over her as the kid looked her way. His head was comfortably laying on Bruce’s shoulder, and he had just woken up from a nap, if his rosy cheeks and sleepy face had anything to say.

 

“So, this is the little tyke?” Barbara’s dad asked, him adding a quick _‘hey, buddy’_ to the kid at the end. Wayne nodded, and Barbara’s jaw nearly fell again when Bruce Wayne _smiled._ It wasn’t some ‘hey, look at me, I’m rich and famous’ kind of smile, it was the kind that you see when parents see their kids, or when a mom or dad sees their baby making friends- it was genuine.

 

“This is Dick,” Wayne told them, then turned to the now-introduced Dick. “Dick, these are my friends. Can you say hi?”

 

Dick waved, then his gaze landed on Barbara. Dick immediately woke up more, his sleepy smile widened, and he lifted his head to hold out his arms towards Barbara- clearly telling Wayne to put him down and telling Barbara to pick him up.

 

“Oh-” Barbara gasped, her and Wayne exchanging a glance. She knew it sounded irrational, but she had the cold feeling that, if she took Dick out of Bruce’s arms, she may not live to see the next day.

 

However, instead of imploding on the spot, Bruce merely asked, “Do you want to hold him?” To which Barbara nodded too, then she had a arms-full of three-year-old boy. She shifted him to her hip, and he immediately started playing with her hair, tugging gently and tossing it around.

 

“Pr’tty,” he said, and Barbara shifted him again so that she was facing him.

 

“Thank you,” she said. “My name’s Barbara, what’s yours?”

 

“His name’s-” Wayne started, but Barbara’s dad must’ve given him a glare that Barbara would’ve given him if she wasn’t waiting for Dick to answer. Kids _need_ independence, to quote her babysitting instructor, so to ask a kid their name was healthy for both their memory and social skills.

 

“Dick!” Dick said in surprising clarity, giving Barbara a big smile. Barbara smiled back at him, and she shifted his weight to one of her arms so that she could hold her hand out in a handshake.

 

“Very nice to meet you, Dick!” She grabbed his hand, shaking it twice before dropping it, and she heard the men all chuckle. Dick giggled, then pointed at Barbara.

 

“Name?” He asked, and Barbara repeated her name, slowly, making sure to enunciate each syllable. “Bar’ba?”

 

Her dad whistled, impressed, behind her. Apparently, ‘Barbara’ was a pretty hard name for little kids to say- even Barbara herself couldn’t say it until she was six, instead referring to herself as her nickname, ‘Babs.’ Dick had said her name better than her cousin (who had called her ‘Ba-Ra,’) so she considered this a win.

 

“Good job, Dick!” She said, giving him a high five. Dick smiled up at all the others in the room, then wrapped his arms around Barbara’s neck and laid his head on her shoulder. Barbara bounced him a little, then spun on her heel when Alfred tapped her on the shoulder.

 

“If Master Bruce doesn’t mind, perhaps we can go to the kitchen and leave your father and Bruce to discuss business in private?” He directed the last part of the question to Wayne, who simply waved his hand and turned to start walking to the living room, Barbara’s dad following him after he patted her on the shoulder and waved to Dick.

 

Barbara followed Alfred to the kitchen, setting Dick down on the counter and sitting on a chair beside him. Alfred went to the pantry, took down a cookie jar, and set it alongside Dick on the counter, gently pushing Dick back with his arm when Dick tried to open the jar himself. Barbara grabbed Dick by his waist to restain him, then watched, impressed, as Alfred took a cookie out and, instead of immediately giving it to him, asked,

 

“Count to five, Master Dick,” and held the cookie out of Dick’s reach.

 

“One two t’ree four five,” Dick recited quickly, then eagerly grabbed the cookie and took a large bite. “T’ank you, Grandpa!”

 

Barbara _aww’ed_ quietly, then when Alfred gave her her own cookie, joked,

 

“Do I have to count to five, too?”

 

Alfred began to answer, but Dick butted in quickly, a crumb falling off of his lip.

 

“One two t’ree four five, Bar’ba!”

 

Barbara sighed in fake-annoyance, then, wanting to show off a little, counted to _ten_ instead of five. Alfred handing her her cookie as Dick stared at her in amazement was one of the best feelings she had ever had.

 

Alfred got his own cookie, then put the cookie jar back into the pantry. He kept standing behind the counter as he ate his own cookie, the silence only interrupted by Dick’s happy humming.

 

Barbara was halfway done with her cookie when Dick finished his, holding his hands up and saying “All done!” In a very proud voice. Alfred and Barbara clapped for him, then Alfred began talking to Barbara.

 

“So, Miss Gordon, has school already started for you?”

 

Barbara shook her head, swallowing her cookie quickly, the cookie scratching her throat on the way down. She took a second to clear her throat and to wave off Alfred’s offer of a glass of water, then, after rubbing her chest uncomfortably, answered,

 

“No, we don’t start for another two weeks.”

 

“Ah, I see.” Alfred, then, without looking in Dick’s direction, said “Don’t jump off the counter, Master Dick.”

 

Barbara looked at the kid, seeing that he was, in fact, very close to jumping off the counter, but he was now pouting and, after sitting down, kicked his feet sadly.

 

“How old are you, Dick?” Barbara asked, the kid keeping up his pout for about two more seconds before he looked down at his hands, trying to show how old he was. He gave up on that soon enough, however, and chirped,

 

“Two!”

 

“No, Master Dick, you are _three,_ remember?” Alfred said, holding up three fingers. Dick tried to imitate him, but his pinky and thumb seemed to not want to touch, and his hand ended up looking oddly twisted. Barbara put down her cookie, and gently made his pinky and thumb touch each other. Dick looked at his touching pinky and thumb, impressed, before pointing at Barbara.

 

“Old?”

 

Barbara held up ten fingers, then closed her left hand into a fist, touching her right thumb to her palm. “I’m fourteen!” She said, wrinkling her nose in a attempt to make Dick giggle. He did, and tried to wrinkle his nose as well. Barbara, feeling a wave of mischievousness wash over her, looked towards Alfred. “And how old are _you_ , Mister Pennyworth?” She asked, resting her chin on her palm in a attempt to look like the reporters she’d seen on TV. Alfred laughed loudly, shaking his head.

 

“That’s for me to know, Miss Gordon, and for you to find out.”

 

Barbara giggled, then coughed in surprise when Dick leapt from the counter into her arms in a surprisingly smooth motion. She regained her balance, then patted Dick’s back as he set his head on her shoulder.

 

That was odd- most three-year-olds were wary of new people, and took at least ten or so minutes to _talk_ , much less launch themselves bodily at a person they just met. Even the most energetic kids Barbara knew took a few days to get used to her, but Dick seemed to be 100% okay with her. She wasn’t complaining a bit, but it was just- strange.

 

“Would you like to bring him outside?” Alfred asked, and Barbara nodded, grabbed her last piece of her cookie, and quickly crammed it in her mouth before hopping off the seat and shifting Dick to her hip. She followed Alfred to the backyard (stopping for a second to get Dick to wear his shoes, which he did _not_ want to do), where there was a decently-sized playground. Dick wiggled out her arms, and immediately ran to the playground, Barbara jogging after him.

 

“Thanks, Alfred!” She called over her shoulder, Alfred mock-saluting her. Barbara sat on a swing, swinging herself gently as she heard Dick run around on the wood chips, and hop up on the platform. There were a few minutes of quiet, the only sounds being Dick’s nonsensical babbling, the creakiness of the swing, and the sounds of birds and the wind.

 

Barbara had her eyes closed, her head tilted up towards the sky. She kept her ears sharp- she knew that if a kid went quiet for a suspiciously long amount of time, they were most likely doing something naughty. However, Dick kept on humming and singing quietly to himself, and she could feel the little vibrations of his feet hitting the platform as he ran around.

 

“Bar’ba!” Dick suddenly called, Barbara opening her eyes and, with a shock of adrenaline and fear, saw Dick standing up on top of the monkey bars, his arms held stick-straight from his sides and his legs in a little squat. Barbara jumped up from her swing, her mind racing for the second time that day-  what was she supposed to do? _And why wasn’t Alfred helping her?!_

 

“Dick, get-” before she could finish her sentence, Dick jumped off of the monkey bars, did a honest-to-God _flip_ in midair, and landed on his feet, then lost his balance and tumbled to his back. He quickly popped up with a large smile on his face, and started laughing at Barbara’s horrified (and extremely amazed) face.

 

Barbara’s hands were covering her mouth- she could feel her eyes nearly bugging out of her head as she stared at Dick, who was now rolling around innocently on the wood chips and giggling. She knew for _damn_ certain she hadn’t hallucinated that- Alfred was clapping as he strode forward, and Dick’s overalls were covered in wood chips. Barbara nearly jumped out of her skin when Alfred set a hand on her shoulder, and she lowered her hands to talk.

 

“Does he-? Does- is he-?”

 

Alfred merely chuckled, and when Dick ran up to them, he placed a arm over Dick to keep him near. Dick wrapped his arms around Alfred’s leg.

 

“Master Dick was raised in the circus, and his parents were very talented acrobats. He got his… _abilities_ from them.”

 

Barbara wheezed _“No kidding,”_ under her breath. Alfred patted the little boy under his arm before kneeling beside him.

 

“Master Dick, though while your flip was very impressive, I feel that we needed to warn Miss Gordon- Miss Barbara,” he said, seeing Dick’s slightly confused expression. “I feel that we need to give her an apology, because, if I’m correct, she was quite concerned for your safety, yes?”

 

Dick pouted, then mumbled “sorry, Bar’ba,” his ‘R’s sounding more like ‘W’s than they did than the other times he had pronounced his ‘R’s.

 

Barbara ran her hand through his hair, messing it up and causing Dick to squeal in surprise.

 

“It’s alright, buddy. That was really cool, though!” At Barbara’s praise, Dick’s eyes glowed, and he smiled happily up at her as Alfred smoothed his hair back to the way it was before.

 

“Miss Gordon,” Alfred stood, Barbara looking at him as a small ‘hm?’ hummed in the back of her throat. “If I may, I’ll go and see how Master Bruce and your father are doing- may you please bring Dick to the movie room?” Before Barbara could ask, he added, “Dick knows the way, right, Master Dick?”

 

“Yeah!” Dick said, having clearly forgotten all about his former moodiness. “C’mon, Bar’ba!” Dick grabbed Barbara’s hand, holding it surprisingly tight. They followed Alfred to the house, Alfred opening the door and allowing Barbara and Dick to pass through first.

 

“Thanks, Alfred,” Barbara said, having to up her pace considerably when Dick started pulling her along with all the force of a tiny bull. “Slow down!” She said, Dick only slowing a bit in his pursuit. Barbara decided to jog beside him, still having to go at the speed of a quick walk to keep Dick by her side. Dick only slowed down to let Barbara push open a few doors, regaining his course after he walked through the doors.

 

About five minutes later, they got to the last door Barbara had to push open, and she was greeted with a miniature movie theatre, complete with the soft seats you would find in actual movie theatres. She whispered _“Why am I not surprised?”_ under her breath, letting Dick go and hearing him run off as she spun slowly on her heel to take it all in. She couldn’t see a projector; but there obviously was one, seeing as when she felt Dick tug on her skirt, he was holding a CD case.

 

“Which movie is that, bud?” She asked, squatting beside him and taking the CD thrust at her. “You wanna watch ‘Bambi?’’ She asked, Dick nodding passionately and grabbing her other hand to drag her to-

 

Oh. _There_ was the projector. It was hidden behind a black curtain she had seen when she had walked in, and there were sticky notes over all the parts, with clearly written instructions that were most likely written by Alfred. Barbara put the movie in, and Dick took the remote (that had its own little table, if she may add) and pressed a few buttons expertly.

 

Dick put the remote haphazardly back the table, dashing out and yelling “C’mon, Bar’ba!” Over his shoulder. Before she left the projector area, Barbara gave into her instinct, adjusting the remote until it was the way they had found it, following Dick and locating him before turning down the lights.

 

Dick was sitting in his own seat, however, when Barbara sat beside him, he crawled into her lap, sitting with his legs straight out and with his hands on his knees. She tried to wrap her arms around him, but he pushed her arms off without looking away from the screen.

 

It was then Barbara learned another thing about Dick- he was _very_ bossy.

 

She had started humming along to the Steamboat Willie song, but Dick put his finger on his lips and turned to face her, hissing “Shh!” before turning back to the screen. Barbara restrained her snort- maybe Dick wasn’t that different from Wayne, after all. According to her dad, who had been friends with Wayne’s family since Wayne was about five, he had done the same thing to both his parents and her dad if they had tried to talk when Wayne was either drawing, watching a movie, or talking.

 

The beginning of Bambi started playing, and Dick laid against her chest, sighing softly. Barbara tried to hug him again, but Dick still pushed her off, and he squirmed in her lap in warning.

 

Barbara was fully prepared to stop watching the movie about twenty or so minutes in, and she was trying to map out the Wayne Manor in her mind so that she could find her way back to the kitchen. However, Dick stayed nearly entirely still past twenty minutes, only moving when Barbara disturbed his peace in some way.

 

Around the time when the hunter was in the forest, (Barbara had held her hand over Dick’s eyes during the pheasant part, which Dick did _not_ appreciate) a ray of light filtered through the dark room, Barbara having to tilt her head way over the seat so that she could see Wayne, Alfred, and her dad. She held up a peace sign, then shook Dick a little, Dick grumbling and popping his head up from her shoulder to see who had disturbed him. Once he saw Wayne, however, Dick’s eyes and face brightened, and he scrambled off of Barbara’s lap, running to his- well, his adopted dad.

 

“Da-dee!” He chirped, flinging his arms around Wayne’s legs and squeezing tightly. Barbara got up and walked over to them as well, her dad hugging her briefly before saying,

 

“It’s time to go, Babs.”

 

Barbara almost whined- she was having a ‘bonding experience’ with Dick, something that was always her dad’s request with any new friends of hers.

 

… Dick’s only three years old, but _still._

 

However, she wanted to be a good influence on Dick, so she merely nodded and followed the men to the front door, where Dick suddenly realized what was happening and started to throw a fit.

 

Alfred started to say “Say goodbye, Master Dick,” but Dick yelled,

 

“ _NO!”_ At the top of his little lungs, startling Barbara’s dad and making Barbara unable to restrain a snort.

 

“Don’t go!” He whined, letting go of Wayne’s pants and clinging to Barbara’s legs instead. “Don’t _go,_ Bar’ba!”

 

Barbara gently unwrapped his arms from her leg, kneeling down and hugging him tightly.

 

“But I gotta go home, Dickie,” She told him, Dick wriggling out of her hug.

 

 _“Why?”_ He stomped his foot, Barbara holding back a giggle.

 

“First of all: don’t stomp, big boys like you don’t do that. Second: ‘cause it’s where I live, bud. How would you like it if I didn’t let you go home?”

 

Dick shrugged, that movement being his only response to her question. She hugged him again, then stood, leaning against the doorframe and looking at Wayne.

 

“How about this- I start school in two weeks, but I’m completely free unless something else comes up.” Barbara waited for someone to add on, but they all stayed frustratingly silent. “What I’m _saying_ is I can ride the bus, or dad can drop me off here, so I can hang out with Dick whenever until school, but I get out at two forty-five and my school is pretty close.” She made jazz hands, and Alfred spoke up.

 

“I see. Master Gordon, how do you feel about this arrangement?”

 

Barbara looked at her dad, who was now standing beside her. She shot him Barbara Puppy Eyes, and he sighed while blocking her gaze with a hand.

 

“You need to finish your homework before you can play with Dick-” He said, and Barbara pulled a mental air fist. _“And_ you need to be home before dark, unless a sleepover happens or if someone escapes from Arkham.”

 

“Perfect!” Barbara cheered, smiling down at Dick, who was still looking upset. Barbara ruffled his hair, Dick pushing her hand off and keeping his hands protectively over his hair, but a smile cracked through his moody expression. “Is it possible that I can come by next week?” Alfred nodded, and Barbara clicked her teeth with her tongue while shooting a finger gun at him. “Cool.”

 

“Just have your dad call me.” Wayne said, Barbara’s dad agreeing with a short ‘mm.’ “I’m at meetings all week next week, and while that won’t usually be a problem, I need to bring Dick to at least one of them.”

 

Barbara decided to not as why, assuming that Wayne just wanted to show Dick off to his employees. She would do the same thing, if she was Wayne.

 

They all said goodbye again, Dick being in slightly better spirits as he waved goodbye, then dashed to the window to wave more, Barbara waving until she was in her dad’s car.

 

Her dad started the car, then once they were out of the driveway, asked,

 

“So, how was that?”

 

“Dick is _precious,_ ” Barbara said, her dad huffing out a laugh and nodding in agreement. “Do you think Wayne’ll be a good dad?” She then asked, her dad taking a while to answer.

 

“I do think he’ll need to rely on Alfred for a while.” At this, Barbara hummed, watching the trees outside her window. “I think that Bruce might try to be more of a older brother than a father for a while, but I bet that he’ll start actually caring for Dick as a son as Dick grows older.”

 

“Mm.” Barbara agreed, turning up the radio and turning it to her favorite station.

 

The rest of the car ride was quiet.

\---

Just as Barbara promised, she took a bus ride to the Wayne Manor the next week, the ride taking ten songs, according to her MP3 player. Even after the bus dropped her off, she had a ten-minute walk to the Manor, since the bus couldn’t go down the small road leading to it.

 

Once she got to the front door, she took her earbuds out, stuck her MP3 in her pocket, and knocked on the door, Alfred answering much more quickly than she expected.

 

“Master Dick is having his nap now, but you are welcome to wait in either the library or kitchen, Miss Gordon.”

 

Barbara chose the library, and Alfred started to lead her there as he added,

 

“Master Dick should wake up in about twenty or so minutes, so I’ll direct him to the library when he does. Is that alright?”

 

“Sounds perfect- thanks, Alfred.” Barbara said, jumping lightly over the single step that led to the library. Alfred bowed, then closed the door, leaving Barbara to marvel at how _large_ the library was- then again, it seemed customary for the Manor to have… large things.

 

That sounded wrong. Barbara shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she wandered, scanning the bookshelves for anything that wasn’t too dusty or old-timey.

 

She found a copy of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’ a book that, if the Gotham education system hadn’t changed since her dad was a kid, she and her class were going to read in AP English this year. She decided to get a headstart- the books that her dad had told her about had sounded sketchy, anyways. If there were anything weird or anything in the book, she would at least be able to dull the shock at least a bit.

 

Barbara found her way back to the couches she had seen when she walked in, plugging her earphones back in and listening to some music as she began to read.

 

She was about twenty pages in (she knew that it took awhile for books to start getting interesting, but seriously, she was a little bored) when she heard, through her music, the library doors open. She looked up to see Dick, wobbling on his feet, looking as tired as he did when Barbara first saw him.

 

Instead of waking up more, he merely walked to Barbara, hoisted himself up on the couch and curled up like a cat, laying his head on Barbara’s lap and nodding back to sleep, probably not realizing who she was.

 

Barbara put down the book, gently shaking Dick until he was awake again. She was then the recipient of Dick’s unhappy look before his brain processed who she was.

 

“Bar’ba!” He smiled up at her, sitting up and placing himself in her lap before reaching up and hugging her, Barbara hugging him back (though not as tightly as Dick, mostly because she felt a bit deprived of air the longer the hug went on).

 

“Hey, bud!” She said as Dick stopped hugging her, his little body vibrating a bit. “How are you?”

 

“Good,” He told her, then jumped off her lap and took her hand in his, and tried to pull her off the couch. Barbara stood and followed Dick, opening the door

 

“Where are we going?” She asked him, Dick not slowing down as he said,

 

“Grandpa.”

 

“I see,” Barbara said, Dick giggling at the way she had said it as he pulled her towards the kitchen. Once they got there, Alfred was standing behind the counter, already with cookies on brightly-colored plastic plates, with matching plastic cups for all three of them.

 

“Hello again, Miss Gordon- Dick isn’t fussing in front of you, is he?” Alfred questioned, Barbara shaking her head.

 

“No, he just tried to fall asleep before I woke him up again,” She told him, Alfred smiling a bit.

 

“Who?” Dick asked, Barbara kneeling and tickling his tummy, making him squeal in laughter.

 

 _“You,_ silly!” She teased, standing back up as Dick still giggled. Dick then held his arms up, and Barbara went to sit him on the table before Alfred shook his head at her and gestured at a regular seat. She mouthed ‘okay’ at him, then sat Dick on a seat beside her, Dick kicking his feet wildly in an attempt to spin.

 

Barbara wondered whether or not Dick needed a sippy cup- however, when he took a drink from a regular cup with no spills, her fears were evaporated. They all started eating their snacks, Dick’s feet thumping against the seat and counter in a steady rhythm.

 

“Where’s Wayne?” Barbara asked, Dick looking up curiously.

 

“He’s at a meeting,” Alfred told her, Barbara humming and taking another bite of her cookie.

 

Dick finished his cookie first, holding his hands up and saying,

 

“All done!” Proudly, Alfred and Barbara applauding him before he carefully jumped off the seat before he tugged impatiently on Barbara’s shirt. “My room now, Bar’ba!”

 

“Gee, Dick, ask me out to dinner first,” Barbara mumbled jokingly around her cookie, shaking her head wildly at Alfred, who had heard her and was looking at her in both amusement, confusion, and surprise. “I’m kidding!” She said quickly, having swallowed the rest of her cookie beforehand. She downed the juice like a shot, then let Dick lead her to his room.

 

Dick pushed open the door himself, then pulled Barbara inside the room, Barbara looking around as he did. There was a bed that was _way_ too big for Dick- but it didn’t have any stuffed animals on it, and it looked way too clean and pristine compared to the mess of crayons, toys, and paper littering the floor of Dick’s room.

 

When Dick slipped his hand out of hers, Barbara stopped looking around and focused on Dick, who was climbing up a ladder that Barbara just noticed, popping his head out from a little alcove and saying,

 

“C’mon, Bar’ba!” While waving his little arm.

 

“What’s up there, Dickie?” She asked, Dick not answering and instead pulling his head back and disappearing into the cove, that was nearly impossible to see from the ground. Barbara sighed through her nose, then walked over to the ladder and started to climb up, being met with a surprisingly roomy place that looked a _lot_ more like a childs’ room. Dick was coloring, swinging his feet as he did so.

 

There was a pile of blankets and pillows that Barbara realized was Dick’s bed- it was just underneath a large poster that had two adults and a young child, who was held by the man. Just over the what she assumed was a family, were large letters bragging about ‘ _The Flying Graysons, hailing from Haly’s Circus!’_

 

With a shock, Barbara realized she recognized the poster- just a few months ago, there was a news report about tragic deaths from a circus, where two acrobats had fallen to death from faulty ropes. Barbara remembered watching in horror as a clip rolled of the event, and she had closed her eyes just before the two figures had crashed to the ground. The reporter had then said that their son, who was only two, would be sent to an orphanage.

 

Barbara looked closer at the little boy in the poster, a little voice telling her that she was sitting right next to him.  She swallowed hard, then gently tapped Dick’s shoulder.

 

“Dickie,” she asked, Dick looking up from his coloring book. “Who are these?” She pointed at the poster, Dick following her finger and breaking out into a beaming smile. He crawled on his hands and knees, sat himself on Barbara’s lap, then decided that it wasn’t comfortable and sat in front of her on his knees. He pointed up at the woman, who had flaming red hair and carefully painted-on freckles.

 

 _“Mami,”_ he said, then pointed at the man, whom Dick had derived most of his features from. “ _Tătic_ , and-” he finally pointed at the baby in the picture, who was beaming widely from his dad’s arms. “And me!”

 

“Aww,” Barbara coo’ed, tickling Dick’s tummy to make him giggle. “Look how little you were!”

 

“But I’m _big_ now!” Dick protested through his giggles, Barbara agreeing with him.

 

“Yes! How old are you?” She asked him, Dick thinking about it for a few seconds.

 

“Three!” He held up three fingers, holding his pinky down with his thumb in a much cleaner motion than the first time Barbara had asked him.

 

“Nice!” Barbara ruffled his hair, Dick pushing her hand off and holding his hands over his hair protectively. He took his hands away from his hair and went back to his coloring book, pushing another one towards Barbara- she noticed that it was a Superman coloring book, something that struck her as much funnier than it really was.

 

She stifled her giggles before grabbing some crayons, and she turned to a page that was Superman standing in his iconic pose before she lay on her tummy, starting to fill in the large ‘S’ in the middle of his chest. There was a nice, peaceful quiet, and Barbara was starting to feel a little bored before a loud, static crackle interrupted them and made Barbara break the crayon as she jumped. She swore under her breath, Dick thankfully not hearing her as he jumped up and scurried over to a walkie-talkie that was strapped onto the wall. He pressed a button, then said,

 

“Hi!” He then released the button, and he and Barbara waited for a response. The crackle sounded again, and Barbara heard Wayne’s voice come over the line.

 

 _“Hello, Dick,”_ He said, Dick smiling widely at his dad’s voice. _“Alfr- grandpa tells me that there’s someone else here, yes?”_   


“It’s Bar’ba!” Dick said, then remembering that he had to press the button so that Wayne would hear him. He pressed the button, then repeated what he had said, Barbara yelling,

 

“Hi!” To back him up. Dick let go of the button, and bounced happily on his knees.

 

 _“I see.”_ Wayne said, then, _“Well, would you two like to go to the park for a while?”_

 

“Yes!” Dick cheered, not forgetting the button this time. He crawled over to the ladder, climbing down before the walkie-talkie crackled again. Barbara answered this time, letting Dick climb all the way down the ladder.

 

_“Meet us by the front doors, chum.”_

 

“Got it, Mister Wayne,” Barbara replied, then climbed down the ladder and then realized that Dick was gone- leaving Barbara alone in his room and with no guide to lead her back to the front doors.

 

Uh oh.

 

Barbara took a deep breath, then put on her metaphorical big-girl pants and tried her best to remember the path Dick had taken her to his room.

 

She started walking, finding the stairs surprisingly quickly and finding her way to the front doors even quicker, giving herself a mental high-five as she made her presence known to the three others by waving her arm and making a odd, strangled noise. Dick was already in his shoes, and he was trying to pull his hand out of Wayne’s with no success. He ended up just dangling dramatically as Alfred opened the doors for them all, Wayne snorting as he looked down at Dick. Barbara walked beside Wayne, Dick getting his act together and starting to walk normally once he saw Barbara.

 

There was an awkward silence as they all headed to the garage, and once the garage was opened and they headed to the car, Dick broke the silence once he saw his car seat and realized that he had to get in it. He tried to pull his hand out of Wayne’s hand again, starting to whine in protest as Wayne picked him up.

 

 _“No-o,”_ Dick tried to push himself away from Wayne, kicking his feet and wriggling. “Da-dee, no-o!”

 

Wayne merely put him in his carseat, Dick rearing himself up to start crying in a attempt to get out of his carseat. Barbara quickly got in the back with him, getting his attention by waving her hand in front of his face. Wayne and Alfred got into the front of the car, and Alfred started the engine and began to pull out of the garage.

 

“It’s okay, buddy,” She assured him, Dick still trying to create tears. A few escaped, and Dick made no move to rub them away. Barbara noticed a book on the ground, and when she picked it up to look at the cover, Dick tried to grab it out of her hands.

 

“Mine,” He said, sounding crabby and like he wanted to kill everyone in the car. Barbara held it tightly, not letting Dick take it, no matter how hard he tried. Barbara opened the book- it was a bird watching guide that included all the birds seen in Northern America. She flipped through the pages, Dick still trying to take it, as she tried to see the bird she wanted to show him.

 

“Don’t steal, Master Dick,” Alfred told him, Dick completely ignoring him. “ _Richard,_ I said don’t steal,” Alfred sounded impressively calm and reserved, which was a stark contrast to Wayne, who was tense, and Barbara could hear a faint _thunk_ -ing that might’ve been Wayne tapping his fingers on the car door.

 

“Dickie, look!” Barbara had found the picture she was looking for, and she now let Dick grab one half of the book. He pulled it towards him, Barbara letting him as she pointed at the bird on the page. “Do you know what bird that is?”

 

Dick shrugged, still holding onto his bitterness that he needed to be in a car seat.

 

“That’s called a Dicky bird,” Barbara told him, Dick looking up at her curiously. Alfred chuckled from the driver’s seat. Dick looked back down at the bird, and he traced one of his fingers over the bird’s head and down to its back. “Isn’t that cool?” Barbara asked, Dick nodding and starting to brighten up.

 

“Dicky bird,” Dick said quietly, saying it again in a louder, more sing-song way. He ended up saying ‘Dicky bird’ in different tones all the way to the park, and when Wayne took him out of the car seat, he clung onto the book, running and sitting beside a park bench to look at the different pages of birds. Barbara sat with him, and she played with the grass as Dick flipped through the pages. Dick suddenly patted her hard on the leg, pointing at the bird on the page. “Robin!” He said excitedly, bouncing happily.

 

“You like robins?” Barbara asked him, Dick nodding.

 

“Fav-ite bird!” Dick told her, smiling widely. Barbara smiled back at him, pulling him into a one-armed hug. She personally liked Kestrels better, but she did really like robins. They were proud and protective birds- when she was around Dick’s age, she had found a robin’s nest on her porch. Her dad had told her to not look at the eggs without him, but she had rebelled and climbed the small porch fence to look at the nest, and she had seen that one egg was beginning to hatch before she had gotten multiple hard pecks on the top of her head by the ruffled mama bird.

 

It had definitely taught her a lesson about birds, but she had a little grudge against robins for about two days before she had seen one sitting right outside of her window, the sunlight and shadows surrounding it that made it one of the prettiest things Barbara had ever seen.

 

Barbara blinked out of her mind to see that Dick put the book down and was now running towards the playground, hopping up on the swings and kicking his feet in a attempt to start swinging. Barbara gave the book to Alfred, who had sat on the park bench that they were sitting by, and ran over to Dick.

 

“Do you want me to push you?” Barbara asked him, Dick nodding and telling her to swing him ‘all the way to the moon!’

 

She got behind him and grabbed the swing chains, making sure he was holding on as tightly as he could before pushing the swing until it was all the way above her head, then letting go and swiftly getting out of the way so that she wouldn’t get hit. Dick screamed happily as he swung, kicking his feet and letting his head fall backwards so that he would see everything upside down.

 

Once the swing started to slow, Dick yelled,

 

“Again!”

 

Barbara got behind the swing again, pushing him up over her head and letting go, getting out of the way and watching as Dick Grayson flew.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!! I'll try to write Dick and Wally's first encounter next!!
> 
> Have a nice day!


End file.
